In July itself, the UT recorded 12 deaths in 25 days. In August, it has already seen two deaths. (Representational)
The first Covid-19 death in Chandigarh was reported on May 3, when an 80-year-old woman from Sector 18 had succumbed to the disease. The woman had co-morbid conditions of chronic asthma and heart disease.
This was followed by three more deaths in the month, with one 35-year-old man, who had been suffering from a chronic liver disease, being brought dead to GMSH-16. The other two deaths were of a 62-year-old man from Bapu Dham, who suffered from heart disease, and a three-day old baby girl from Dadu Majra, who was diagnosed with neonatal jaundice.
Chandigarh’s fatality rate is around 1.5 per cent, but in July itself, the UT recorded 12 deaths in 25 days, with the oldest being a 96-year-old man from Burail, who was a paralytic and immune-compromised patient and the youngest being a 40-year-old man from Sector 52, who had chronic liver disease.
“If you see the rest of the data of deaths in July, you will notice that the 12 patients who passed away in July had co-morbid conditions of hypertension and diabetes, chronic liver disease and also coronary heart and artery disease and severe rheumatic heart disease. These co-morbid condition make the patients more prone to severe Covid, because they have less resistance to fight the disease and also age can be a factor, as seven patients who died were of above 60 years,” shares Dr Gurinderjit Singh, Head of Medicine department, GMSH-16.
The virus can be a pre-precipitating factor in critically-ill patients, with the body’s immune system weak to fight the disease.
Comparing data on the number of registered deaths in the UT between April to July in 2019 and 2020, a senior doctor at the hospital observed that age, critical illnesses and diseases, tertiary care, also contribute to the fatality rate.
Citing data comparing 2019 and 2020, in April 2019 the number of deaths were 1,638, as compared to 1,159 in 2020.
In May 2019, the recorded deaths were 1,768 as compared to 1,213 in May 2020. In June 2019, 1,586 deaths were registered, and in June 2020 the number was 1,407. The month of July 2019 saw 1,825 deaths while in July 2020, 1,374 deaths were recorded.
Till now, the UT has seen two Covid deaths in August, one of a 63-year-old man from Bapu Dham, who suffered from SARI, coronary artery disease with inferior wall myocardial infarction. He passed away on August 1.
A 50-year-old woman from Burail, with severe rheumatic heart disease had also passed away on August 3.